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An Unlikely Match
Chapter XX
What had happened to her? What if she has a tumor? What if she's dying? Klaus thought going straight to Elijah's office. But unfortunately his brother wasn't there. He had texted Elijah informing him about their sister's admission to the hospital and headed to the closest on call room, locking it behind him.
The images of seeing her now were mixing with the images of ten years ago and for a moment he didn't know what was real and what wasn't. He didn't have enough strength. She couldn't die. He needed someone to keep him sane otherwise he would lose it. He needed Caroline.
I need you. Come to the OCR near my brother's office.
Caroline had just finished a surgery with Isobel. She had missed lunch with Klaus, but their patient had been quiet the handful. At least he was alive. She scrubbed out slowly, still tired after the emotional night they had all had. Even after they had finally lain down to sleep she couldn't find herself slipping away into any dreams. Katherine's words kept coming back to her as she looked at the man sleeping by her side wondering what sort of terrible things he had been through. It had truly broken her heart and she had made a promise to herself she would be faithful to her words to him — no matter what. It didn't matter what he had done in the past, she would be there for him.
Once she was finished scrubbing out, Caroline made her way to the cafeteria, checking her phone as she did so. She was certain he would know she couldn't make lunch, but maybe he had been delayed as well. She smiled when she saw that she did indeed have a text from him, but the moment she opened the message her smile faded. She knew something was wrong, and her feet couldn't bring her fast enough to the on call room.
There weren't any OCRs near Elijah's office, but even after checking each of the ones on the same floor she couldn't seem to find Klaus. She checked the time stamp on her phone… the message was sent fifty-one minutes ago and she wondered where else could he have gone to. She called him, but there was no answer, making her worry even more.
She asked the nurses and interns that were on the same floor, but no one had seen him. Maybe he had to scrub in? She wondered before going to check the board, but he didn't have surgery until later in the afternoon. He wasn't in the PIT. He wasn't with his interns. And the Old Man's room had been vacated the previous day due to his death, but Caroline checked his room anyway. Thinking over one last place she ran to the parking lot to see if his car was still there. It was which mean that he hadn't left the hospital. During her search she called him several times, but each one went unanswered. She was about to look for Elijah when she came across Katherine.
"Have you seen Elijah?"
"Have you seen Klaus?"
Both women asked at the same time.
"No, what happened?" Caroline was the first to answer.
"I don't know exactly, but Esther is here. I'm looking for her, but I can't find her anywhere. She asked for Elijah, Klaus or me," Katherine informed, and Caroline felt her heart skip a beat. It couldn't be good if Esther was there.
"Have you seen Klaus?" she repeated her question and Katherine just shook her head negatively.
"I'm going to try and find Esther, are you coming?" Katherine asked, texting Elijah for the third time.
"No, I need to find Klaus first," Caroline offered, heading to the second surgery floor.
She was wondering what she would do when she passed in front of Mason's office. She looked inside out of habit, but she was shocked to see not only Klaus, but also Elijah and a woman she thought could only be their mother.
"Nik…" she said weakly, entering the room, four heads turning to look at her.
"Caroline…" he whispered, tears falling from his eyes.
The female resident looked quickly at Elijah and Esther and found the same expression showing on their faces, Esther crying copiously while Elijah's eyes were red. Something had definitely happened.
"What happened?" she asked, not knowing if she should enter further in the room or not.
"I'll keep you posted," Elijah offered quietly to his brother.
Klaus nodded, and stood up, quickly hugging his mother before walking out of the neurosurgeon's office.
Caroline led them to the closest on call room. She could already see the prying eyes following them. While they walked she texted Katherine informing where Elijah was. She felt her phone vibrate when she locked the room's door behind them, knowing it was her friend thanking her, but she didn't check. Her only concern now was her boyfriend.
"What happened, Nik?" she asked feeling her tears coming up as well. She thought she had seen him at his worst when she found him at the Old Man's room just a few days ago, but nothing compared to what she was seeing now. He was a shell of the man that she knew. He wasn't enraged like when she had found him destroying his sketchpad, but he looked much more heartbroken.
"Rebekah," he simply answered, and Caroline frowned.
As far as she knew his sister was dead. What could have happened to make him and the rest of his family look like that?
"What happened?" Caroline asked unsure.
"I can't lose her, sweetheart. Not again," he said and moved his head to her chest. His phone started to ring, but Klaus seemed too lost in his breakdown to even notice it.
"Hello," her voice cracked.
"Who is this?" a heavily accented female voice asked, her voice showing her confusion, but also unmistaken tears.
"Caroline, but this is Klaus's phone. He can't right answer now," she answered, not thinking for a moment that it was his mother.
Esther could listen to the sobs of her son, and it only made things worse. She had no idea who Caroline was, as if she didn't register her son words just a few moments ago when he whispered his girlfriend's name.
"I'm Esther, Klaus' mother. Dr. Lockwood has managed to get the images he has asked for," Esther offered after Elijah nodded his head to his mother, before following Katherine outside. Mason had just explained Rebekah's condition to them, and he had to look for Dr. Saltzman as he was in no condition to operate on anyone else while someone would be opening up his sister's head. For the second time.
"What happened?" Caroline asked unsure, Klaus still unresponsive, crying quietly against her chest.
"Do you want to talk to Dr. Lockwood?" Esther suggested, knowing that the blond would probably update Klaus about what happened.
"Sure," Caroline answered
"Mason, it's me, what happened?" Caroline said as soon as she heard the familiar voice.
"She's had a concussion, she's bleeding. I'm going to operate on her as soon as possible," he offered and Caroline felt her heart drop from her chest.
"How serious do you think it is?" Caroline asked, watching carefully to see if Klaus would react to her words, but he didn't seem to even notice she was on the phone.
"It's a tricky spot, hard access and the bleeding is quite significant. Her mother told me she found Rebekah on the bathroom floor when she woke up, around eleven, but the blood coming from her nose was already dry," Mason explained, and Caroline nodded, although he couldn't see the gesture.
"Thank you, Mason. Please keep me posted, I'm with Klaus," Caroline offered before hanging up.
"They're going to operate on her," Caroline offered quietly, but Klaus didn't show any reaction. She didn't even know if he had heard her, but he already probably knew they were going to operate on Rebekah even before the call.
Caroline tried to reach out to him, but she hadn't been successful. It seemed clear to her that he was in shock. She had offered to call Elijah, but Klaus protested, that being the only reaction she got from him in the thirty minutes they were there.
We're scrubbing in to operate on her, Caroline read on her phone. She forwarded Mason's text to Katherine, not knowing if her best friend was in a similar position with Elijah at the moment. The older Mikaelson was collected, but so was Klaus most of time and her boyfriend had completely lost any composure he had. He wasn't crying at the moment, but he was still unresponsive, his thoughts lost somewhere between the present and past.
Katherine's answered her text saying Serena already knew of the situation and had cleaned Caroline's and Klaus' schedules for the rest of the afternoon. It seemed like Elijah certainly coped with things differently than Klaus, as in after thought she mentioned that she was going to scrub in, while Elijah would be staying with Esther while they operated on Rebekah.
Caroline continued to hold her quiet and pensive boyfriend while her mind wandered. Both she and Katherine thought Rebekah was dead. Katherine even spent a couple of days with Esther during the holidays and no one had ever mentioned Rebekah, and the female Mikaelson sibling definitely didn't make an appearance. She wasn't too surprised by them being in New York as Katherine had said the previous night Esther was coming. Of course the brunette didn't mention Rebekah, and Caroline wondered if Klaus even knew about them before his sister was admitted as a patient to the hospital.
It was a sort of comforting knowing that Klaus only had to deal with one death instead of two, but now that his sister was going through a complicated surgery made her wonder if the former was true at all.
How is he? Caroline read on her phone almost two hours later.
Calm, but unresponsive, the blond answered the older Mikaelson doctor. Klaus had moved to lie on the bed, his head on her lap, as she soothed him with her soft touch. She didn't know what to say. She thought Rebekah was dead until a couple hours of ago and they didn't have any update from Mason. To keep herself sane she kept repeating mentally that no news meant good news. She remembered how she had been in the same position a few months prior, when her father was admitted. Of course she couldn't compare Klaus' relationship with his sister – even if she knew nothing about it – and her relationship with her father. But that was irrelevant; in the end it was family and it didn't matter if you're close to them or not, it would always be a heavy situation to handle.
When her mother died eight months ago Caroline didn't go through all of this. Firstly, because she was a patient herself. She had lost consciousness briefly, but she had only ended up with a few scratches from the broken windshield, and the burn from the airbag, nothing more. By the time they were finished with her, she already knew her mother was dead. Actually Liz had died from the heart attack she had, even before the car collided with the street lamp post. Caroline had been in shock for a couple of hours, and when Katherine took her home, she went to her bedroom, crying, while her best friend tried to soothe her, in vain.
Although her romance with Mason had been recently discovered by then, Liz had been happy that they weren't together anymore and that her daughter had made a good decision. The resident didn't correct her mother about her assumptions because for once her mother wasn't judging her. Yes, Caroline had broken up with Mason the moment she found out about Rose, but she had approached him again to listen to his side and was more than willing to forgive him. But when they talked, he had informed her that he was willing to give his marriage a second try. It had broken Caroline's heart all over again.
Caroline was still devastated the following day, and for some reason Liz had chosen that moment to approach her daughter. She realized Caroline's spirits were down and invited her to have dinner at one of their favorite restaurants in the city. It was rare, but sometimes her mother invited her to go to the Italian place they both loved. Caroline had been a second away from declining her mother's invitation, but thinking her day couldn't get worse, she agreed and they left the Presbyterian at seven o'clock sharp.
Caroline would never forget that night. For the first time since she could remember Liz behaved like her mother, and not her boss. Even before Caroline had become a resident at the hospital her mother had treated her like a subordinate, never a daughter. And yet, from time to time Liz would invite her to have dinner at La Cantina Fellini, although it was never to check on her, but on her progress through med-school. Liz followed her daughter's grades as if Caroline was still a kid, and of course she didn't hide her disappointment when she thought her daughter could have done better – which was always. Liz had set the bar too high for anyone to ever reach it, but Caroline still felt like a failure.
The resident wasn't sure if that night had been so hard on her because for once she had a good time with Liz or because of the loss itself. She wondered more than once if those hours would have been so hard on her if her mother had been her usual stoic and cold self instead of the almost warm version that had laughed at Caroline's stupid jokes.
"I'm proud of you, Caroline. I know I don't do a good job to showing it, but I'm very proud of you. Not only do you have a brilliant future ahead of yourself in medicine, but you've become a beautiful woman, inside and out," Liz offered while they waited for the check.
"Thank you, it makes a world of difference to know you're not disappointed," Caroline said, on the verge of tears, but she held them back bravely, knowing her mother hated any sign of weakness.
"If anything, I'm disappointed in me, honey. Now let's get you home because we both have to wake up early tomorrow and I know you appreciate your sleep beauty just as much as I do," Liz offered with a gentle smile, getting a soft one from her daughter in return.
Those had been the last significant words the two exchanged. Not five minutes into their drive to Caroline's place, Liz had suffered a heart attack and lost control of the car. It collided head first against a lamp post. From time to time Caroline still had nightmares of seeing the pole in front of her mother's car just before it collided with the Mercedes her mother drove.
She was still reminiscing about that awful day, when Klaus startled her. Suddenly having woken up from his trance, and moving into a sitting position quickly.
"What did Mason say? Are they still operating on her?" he asked promptly, and she wished she had better answers to give him, but she didn't.
"She'll be okay, Klaus" Caroline offered with a small smile.
"What did the bloody doctor say?" he yelled frightening Caroline. He had never reacted like that around her. She had seen the same anger when he woke up from his nightmares, but it was never really targeted on her. Elena once commented that he had been really angry on his interns a couple of times and that it had been frightening, and now Caroline was experiencing it firsthand. It reminded her of when he asked her to leave the old man's room a couple of days ago, only it was much more intense now.
"She's being operated on for a traumatic brain injury but its cause was unidentifiable. She has a concussion towards the back of her head and some damage was done to her face as well. She has suffered blood loss, from her nose and her brain is bleeding," Caroline rambled the information Katherine had texted her earlier, as she had yet to hear from Mason since he scrubbed in.
"How bad?" he asked, his voice still louder than usual, but closer to his usual tone now.
"Bad, but not unmanageable," Caroline answered and looked down, fidgeting with the hem of her scrubs. She didn't know how to handle him in a situation like this. It was clear he was angry, but it wasn't unintentional like in during his rage episodes. He seemed quite aware of his emotions at the moment, but still it seemed like he had little control over them.
"Are they still operating on her?" he asked quietly, a few moments later.
"Yes, I haven't received any update since they started about two hours ago," she said unsure. Klaus inhaled and exhaled sharply, he had noticed that he had frightened her, but even if he wanted to acknowledge it now he couldn't. His head was too preoccupied with thoughts of Rebekah.
"Didn't Mason say anything else?" he asked tiredly, leading her to bite her bottom lip, not knowing if she should alarm him more or not. Mason didn't give her much information, but he had given her enough to conjure up a decent scenario about Rebekah's condition.
"He's the best neurosurgeon in the city, she's in good hands." Caroline answered softly, a crippled smile showing on her broken face.
"What are you hiding from me?" he asked with fear. He could read Caroline's face with his eyes closed. He knew she didn't say the worst yet, and he wondered what it could be.
"Mason said the bleeding is in a tricky spot," Caroline said before looking away.
Klaus stood up and started pacing in the small room.
"She can't die, she can't die, she can't die," he started to chant like a mantra, his voice barely audible.
"She won't. I trust Mason," she stood up holding both of his hands on her own.
"Mother… she's probably going crazy," he said suddenly remembering of Esther.
"Elijah is with her," she offered, and moved him to the bed.
They sat with his head resting against her shoulder as they waited. She wanted to ask him what happened to Rebekah prior to that morning, but she knew it wasn't the right time for that. Whatever it was that happened to his family hadn't killed Rebekah physically, but Caroline was sure the female Mikaelson had died in some way all those years ago. The guilt in Klaus' eyes assured her about it.
About an hour and a half later Caroline's phone started ringing. Checking the caller, she saw it was her ex-boyfriend and she didn't hesitate in answering.
"So?" Caroline asked holding Klaus's hand tightly and giving him a reassuring look.
"We've been able to control the damage. She isn't bleeding anymore, but it's too early for us to know if she'll make it," the neurosurgeon explained, and she sighed, closing her eyes.
"She made it," she offered to Klaus, knowing it would calm him enough.
"Have you talked to Elijah and Mrs. Mikaelson already?" she asked. She knew Mason and she was positive the first thing he did after he scrubbed out was call her. And she wasn't wrong.
"No, I'm going to Dr. Mikaelson's office, where they told me they would wait for me. I'm going to give them a full report about everything that happened there… maybe Klaus should be there too." Mason said with a small amount of hesitation, and in that moment she knew Mason had bad news to deliver.
"We'll be there in a few," she answered, thanking him and hanging up.
"He's going to your brother's office. I guess your mother and Elijah are waiting for him there. Maybe we should go and hear everything he has to say." Caroline offered, and Klaus only nodded.
"Do you want to go home?" Caroline asked as soon as Mason left the office.
Klaus nodded, but didn't follow when she stood up.
"I'm going to talk to Serena," Caroline offered, and he nodded again.
"I love you," she whispered, before kissing his cheek.
"I love you, too" he answered, holding her face in place, in front of him, their foreheads touching.
She pecked his lips chastely before leaving the family to have some privacy. Esther had asked most of the questions to Mason, while Elijah seemed to be listening attentively, with no questions leaving his lips. Caroline, knowing her ex-boyfriend better than anyone else, also asked a few questions to which nobody liked the answers. Klaus had stayed quiet throughout the whole exchange, only thanking Mason for saving his sister's life.
Unfortunately, none of Mason's answer assured them about Rebekah's recovery. The bleeding had been stopped and the small damage had been fixed, but the neurosurgeon couldn't know for sure if there would be any consequences. She had crashed once in the operating table and although they had quickly brought her back it was still another factor that could leave her with after-effects.
"How did she injure herself?" Klaus asked, his voice hoarse and quiet.
"We think she fell in the bathroom briefly after mother and she arrived at the hotel, around four in the morning," Elijah explained, and Klaus cursed in his head. He couldn't believe his sister was in such a condition because of a fall. How stupid did that sound?
"Did you hear something?" Klaus asked his mother and she shook her head.
"The blood in her nose was dry when I found out her," she gave him the same information she had given Mason and Elijah earlier.
"How has she been? Her voice and words seemed great on the phone," Klaus asked, and Esther couldn't stop a new batch of tears from falling.
"She's been great since she talked to you Saturday," Esther offered weakly, "The best she has been ever since the accident. She was talkative and excited to come to New York," Esther said, and for the first time since he found out about his younger sister's condition, Elijah actually cried.
"She shouldn't be here, it's not fair," Klaus stood up, throwing his brother's chair across the room. He couldn't believe that when Rebekah finally seemed to recover she would get hurt and get worse again.
"Rebekah is strong like no one I know, Niklaus. She's survived her organs shutting down ten years ago and undergone multiple surgeries. Even crashing in a few of her previous surgeries. She will make it through this, just as before." the heart surgeon tried to reassure the resident, but he knew it was a lost battle because Klaus was right. It wasn't fair that once Rebekah finally started to resemble the girl she had once been, she would injure herself in such an ordinary way, risking all the progress she had taken ten years to make.
"But she shouldn't be hurting like this, Elijah. Just because nothing brings her down it doesn't mean she should keep being subjected to these things," Klaus yelled, tears streaming from his eyes continuously.
"There is nothing we could have done to prevent it, Klaus," his mother offered.
"Tell me everything, tell me how she has been since I visited last summer," he sat by Esther's side, hearing has his mother described the latest accomplishments made by her only daughter.
Caroline went straight to the board to see if Serena was on surgery, but she wasn't according to the information there. Katherine was with Alaric and Bonnie with Damon. She wanted to talk to her friends before she left, but she knew it wouldn't be possible.
The chief of residency frequently used her best friend's office to do all the paperwork as it was quiet and Rose rarely went to her office. The residents' locker room was never quiet enough, and Serena said she needed peace to work. She hated doing it – as most surgeons did– and the smallest noise would annoy her and make her lose her concentration. That was why Caroline decided to go to the fifth floor and check the pediatrician's office. She could have paged Serena, but she wanted to clear her head a little bit. It had been a difficult week, one she couldn't have predicted in her worst nightmares, and she just wished it would all be over already. But who knew how long it would take for Rebekah to wake up? Mason said it could be in the next few hours or not happen at all. The moment the neurosurgeon discussed the possibility of Rebekah never waking up, Caroline reached for her boyfriend's hand only to find it shaking uncontrollably. Rebekah had to wake up; otherwise she had a feeling Klaus would be the one in a coma, even if his eyes were open and his senses responsive.
She knocked on Rose's door and waited for Serena to call her in, according to the nurses; both the resident and the attending doctor had entered the room no longer than ten minutes ago.
Serena opened the door, not expecting to find Caroline there, but relieved to know it was someone she could dismiss easily. The younger blond was probably there to let her know about Klaus' sister condition.
"Hi, Dr. Van der Woodsen. I would like to know if it's okay if Klaus and I headed home earlier. Mason just finished operating on his sister, and she isn't expected to wake for a few hours," Caroline asked, frowning slightly as Serena blocked her view from the room.
"Sure, but I need you back tomorrow. I talked to the Chief and we agreed to give the rest of the week off to Dr. Mikaelson," Serena said, and Caroline nodded, looking behind the taller blond, seeing Rose burying her head on her hands.
"Is everything okay with Dr. Sawyer?" Caroline asked, actually looking concerned about the pediatrician.
"Just some unexpected news," Serena offered, looking briefly at her best friend, before asking Caroline if that was all.
The resident thanked her chief, before she walked out, stealing another glance at the distressed attending inside the office.
"It was Caroline, it seems like Klaus' sister surgery went well, but I didn't ask any questions," Serena said closing the door behind her.
"Hopefully she'll survive. Mase is the best in the city, so she got the best shot she could have had," Rose offered with a small smile. "What am I going to do, S?" she asked her best friend, a tear rolling down her face.
"You'll tell him, you can't hide it from him," Serena said. Although she was Rose's best friend, Damon was her best male friend. He was like a big brother, much more than her mentor and she knew Rose shouldn't keep it from him even for a day. He may be a little bit self-centered, but he had a right to know it.
"But this is Damon Salvatore, Serena, the definition of selfishness and manwhore-ness," Rose offered dejectedly.
"He may be a manwhore, but he cares about you. You said to me more than once that he's been sending clear messages about commitment. He wants to be with you, Ros," Serena approached her friend on the couch, offering her shoulder for the pediatrician to cry on. "I've known Damon most of my life, and I work with him in a daily basis. I can see the way he looks at you, he's always trying to fish for information about you, and just last week he tried to convince me to put in a good word about him. I may even go as far as saying he's falling for you,"
"I've been married for eight years, Serena. I've had the maternity bell ringing so many times, and each time I silenced it because it wasn't the right time. When I finally felt like I was in a good place to become a mother, my marriage fell apart and eighteen months later I'm pregnant with a womanizer's baby," Rose cried, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders.
If it had been Mason's baby and if they were still together, even if struggling, she would be on cloud nine, but that wasn't the case. Damon may be ready to be in a relationship, but she knew for sure he didn't want to be a father. And how could anyone imagine Damon as someone's father?
"I know this is not ideal, and I was going to tell you this on the weekend, but maybe it'll cheer you up a little bit," Serena offered, biting her lower lip nervously. She didn't know if it would comfort Rose or make her feel even worse about her condition.
"What?" the hazel-eyed doctor looked up at her friend.
"I'm twelve weeks pregnant," Serena did her best to hide her excitement, but she was sure she didn't tune it down completely.
"What?" Rose asked shocked by the news.
"Please tell me that it comforts you to know we'll go through the same thing instead of making you hate me," the resident asked unsure, not knowing what to gather from Rose's reaction.
"I don't know what to say," Rose answered honestly.
"I know you, Ros, and I know my pregnancy may make you feel even worse about yours, but try to look on the brighter side of things. We'll do it together. I know your situation with Damon isn't ideal, but we could be godmothers to each other's babies and become sisters again, sort of," Serena said, not holding back her excitement at all. "You'll be my pediatrician, the baby's godmother and the one I'm going to look up to," Serena said less cheerily, but Rose was still quiet about it. "Please say something. Please tell me you're not thinking I'm a bitch with the worst timing ever," the green-eyed resident asked, growing more and more anxious at her best friend's silence.
"We'll do it together…" Rose said quietly.
"Yes!" Serena clapped her hands, with a small smile on her face.
"I'm sure Damon will be much more receptive to the idea than you think. Everything will work out and our baby girls will have each other, just like we do. They'll be best friends and the most gorgeous babies ever. Have you seen us and our beaus? If there's anyone that could challenge Ryan in the dashing department it's Damon," Serena tried to cheer her friend up and she actually made a smile crack on Rose's face.
"Do you really think he'll be receptive to the idea of becoming a dad?" she asked unsure, biting her lip just like her best friend did moments ago.
"He's growing up. He's thirty-three, it's about time he starts being responsible," Serena offered softly.
"Maybe you're right," Rose smiled weakly, still unsure about Damon's reaction.
"I'm always right," the younger blonde shrugged.
"You've been spending way too much time with Damon," she shook her head, smirking just like said man would do.
"I happen to love your baby's dad. Seriously, he may freak out for five minutes, but I'm sure in a couple of days he'll be all over you and the baby," Serena offered and stopped refraining her cheeriness altogether.
"He will freak out at first, won't he?" Rose chuckled, trying to imagine Damon's reaction.
"Until he finally sees that he'll be putting a mini-him in the world. Then he'll start going on and on about how his baby will be the most awesome baby ever, and that it'll be his master piece of beauty, that no one can make more dashing babies than him, yadda, yadda, yadda," Serena rolled her eyes, with a broad smile.
"Oh my God, what did I do? I created a monster, and I don't mean you, sweetie," she said, rubbing her still flat belly.
"You totally did,"
"You mentioned girls... do you already know the sex?" Rose asked, wondering how far along she was. She was positive Serena was farther than her as her best friend was at the end of the first trimester while the pediatrician had just found out about her pregnancy.
"No, but I'm sure we're both having girls," Serena offered confidently.
"I feel like Damon would prefer a boy,"
"Please, he's totally a baby girl kind of man. And a little girl with his looks and yours will drive him crazy. I can't wait until I can joke about all the boys that will do to her exactly the same he had done to all those girls he deflowered," Serena giggled, wondering how he would react having a girl.
"Please, no, I can handle a manwhore, but so help me God my child will not be like that," Rose offered playfully.
"His shift is almost ending, go talk to him, though I would advise you to wait until you're at his place. Who knows if he'll be able to drive after you break the news to him?" the resident offered seriously and Rose nodded, much more confident now than she was thirty minutes ago when she confirmed her suspicions.
"I'm happy you're pregnant too, S. It's going to be much easier doing it with you all along the way," Rose offered a smile to her best friend, who grinned in return, relieved to know her pregnancy didn't bring the pediatrician down.
"Everything will be okay, Ros, don't worry," Serena offered before hugging her best friend.
Klaus agreed to go home, but not even an hour later he wanted to go back to the hospital. He knew Rebekah wouldn't be waking before late at night if her body had truly had a successful and immediate recovery from the trauma it went through for almost four hours. He was trying to keep himself positive and hopeful, but there was a feeling inside him telling him that maybe Rebekah finally had had too much. And he found himself in the position he had been in all those years ago: staring hopelessly at his phone for any news from the sister he loved and to whom he would do anything.
When the device finally vibrated on his hand, he didn't even check the number, barely registering there were too many numbers on the screen for it to be from the hospital.
"Hello," he said anxiously.
"Nik?" the heavy accented voice asked, although the middle-age man knew that voice too well.
"Uncle Nate?" Klaus frowned slightly. He had stayed at his uncle's house when he visited his mother in the summer. He had always been close to Nathaniel Mikaelson, who had tried to reach him in every possible way after what happened to Rebekah.
"How are you, son?" the clearly emotional man asked.
"It's not fair, Nate, it's not fair. She's fighting for her life again," Klaus broke down instantly, allowing himself to cry to the one person that had always been there for him during the Rebekah debacle.
Although they were actually third degree cousins, all of the Mikaelson siblings referred to the pediatrician as their uncle. He was, after all, just a few years older than their parents, and was very close to Esther and Mikael's family. Nathaniel had even helped Klaus by giving him his connections in Wales where Klaus eventually went to med-school. The resident had never accepted money from his cousin, and asked Nathaniel not to tell anyone in the family about his whereabouts. He didn't keep in touch much with the doctor, talking with him on very few occasions throughout the years, but it was good to hear from his cousin now.
Nathaniel was a pediatrician, and the one who helped them to quickly diagnose Klaus with a rare – but treatable – immunodeficiency disease when he was five. What seemed like a lucky guess or an ingenious conclusion was actually a desperate father trying doing everything in his power to find out what was wrong with his son. Nathaniel found out his grandfather's youngest brother – on his father's side – had the same disease. Mikael couldn't find it in his own research on Esther's side of the family because it was Nathaniel's mother who was related to Esther's.
It was then that Mikael found out his only blue-eyed son wasn't his. When Nathaniel first suggested the diagnosis, Mikael had been reluctant as he didn't have any case on his side of the family. He investigated Esther's side, but he didn't find any case either. As the Mikaelson's were the ones linked to the royal family – and the reason why their children only had their mother's last name – Mikael had access to their medical historic easily. His suspicious about Klaus' paternity grew and being the director in the hospital the small boy was worked in his favor. After collecting samples of their blood and ordering the tests under another patient's name Mikael had found out the horrible truth. His wife had been having an affair, although he had never knew it had lasted for the entirety of their marriage. The scorned husband had threatened his wife's life in every possible way, threatening even to kill Klaus, but she didn't reveal who her lover was. She knew her husband would go after Nathaniel the moment he found out about it and she wouldn't allow it. There was only one person she loved as much as her children and that was him.
Mikael waited until Klaus was released from the hospital, before he informed his wife he knew about her indiscretions. And that was then the beating started. Even Finn who was already fifteen at the time couldn't escape their father's rage. Whatever the children did, their father took it as a chance to beat them. At first he had only spared Henrik, who was a little older than one. Even the twins, being only three had suffered from Mikael's anger, but he soon stopped beating on Rebekah and Kol. Mikael was especially hard on Klaus, knowing it was breaking Esther's heart. Although Mikael was aware none of the children could be blamed for their mother's unfaithfulness, he would hurt them, and thus punish Esther. Soon his hate grew toward his middle son, understanding then why he was Esther's favorite. His wife always went out of her way for Niklaus and even their other children noticed it.
Esther knew Klaus was Nathaniel's the moment he was born. He had his father's eyes and the more he grew up the more he looked like Nate. Her frequent visits to the pediatrician office were all more justified after Klaus was sick, although they had been recurrent even before. Mikael always thought she was hypochondriac or just too neurotic about their children's health, never questioning Nathaniel's closeness to his children. Her cousin didn't have a family of his own – being faithful to Esther his entire life – and that was why everyone in the family thought it was normal for the kids to always be around their 'Uncle' Nate so frequently.
"I'll be there in morning, for you, Bekah, Eli and your mother. Kol is coming with me, we're about to board the redeye," Nathaniel offered with his tender voice that always had a way to calm Klaus down, even when he was only a baby.
"Thank you, Uncle Nate," Klaus offered, although somewhere in his mind he wondered how Kol would react to seeing him for the first time in ten years.
AN: These are the pregnancies (sorry Delena fans), as well as a full explanation of what happened to Liz and Caroline when Liz died, and also the revelation of who Klaus' father is in this story. He was supposed to be Esther's cousin, not a second degree cousin, but it seems like people have a huge problem with that, so changed it slightly. I don't, thought I'd never marry any of my cousins.
Sorry for the delay I hosted my own 80's party this weekend and when I received Erin's email on Saturday I couldn't read it over and post. I hope to have next chapter at the end of the week, as usual. Then we'll go on a mini hiatus of two weeks as I'll be on vacation and it's also my birthday. If I have more chapters written before I leave, I'll send them to Erin and if I find the time to read them over and post during my vacation, I'll post.
I want to thank all of my reviewers, and my beta, Erin.
I'm going to post a new story that is neither of the ones you vote. It'll probably be up today or tomorrow. Here is the summary:
Clash of Stars
Caroline Forbes had no idea that when she was signed to The Originals miniseries, she'd be working with Niklaus Mikaelson. Boozer, stud extraordinaire, last seen on the arm of Demi Moore before going to rehab. But if he thought he was going to mess up this with his shenanigans then he had another thing coming. Looks can be deceiving, especially the ones of this American Sweetheart.
It's Hollywood themed like so many other stories, but believe me it's far different from the ones I read (and I read a few of them). It's witty, sarcastic, humorous and of course with a hint of romance, but I'll try to keep the drama off.
I hope you guys liked this chapter.
xxx
Bárbara